Ed,
funny you should mention this!
just yesterday I was doing research on this very topic..
I also have a shady corner, under oak trees, with a chain link fence,
where I would like to grow a tall hedge..
but what kind of "tall hedge plant" can handle full shade??
I may have found one!
I will simply copy and paste the notes I took yesterday..
the following is copied from various sources around the internet..
im really tempted to try these!
Hedges for shade
Clumping bamboos (Fargesia).
Look in this very valuable group to find hardy,
clumping bamboos as well as clumping bamboos for warmer climates and interiors.
These bamboos originate in the mountains of South and Central America,
China and the Indian sub-continent. The Fargesias are among the hardiest
of bamboos and all are useful in shade; some in sun as well. If you are
in a northern state and need an evergreen screen that requires no control,
The Fargesias are perfect for you. The Borindas, Chusquea and Drepanostachyum
do well in warm states. Himalayacamlamus prefers cool nights. These latter,
more tender bamboos, but not the Fargesias, are excellent interior plants.
Fargesia murielae - A bamboo from the Himalayas
with green culms. This shade-loving plant grows more vigorously for us
than the other Fargesias. The culms become progressively more branched
each year and, as a result, more pendulous - hence a fountain-like growth
habit. Fine specimen plants - or use them spaced ten feet apart to make
a non-spreading screen. Evergreen in Zone 5 and warmer, but not for hot
climates, the South, Kansas, Oklahoma or desert states. We sell new generation
plants. Gallon.
Height 12 ft
Diam .5 in
Hardy to -20F
Zones 5-8
Partial shade
Clumping
http://www.backyardgardener.com/plantname/pda_1e0c-2.html
http://www.ipps.org/WesternNA/WR2007/PPT/Jaquith.pdf
http://www.bamboogarden.com/Clumping%20Bamboo%20Sale.htm
http://www.bamboodirect.com
http://davesgarden.com/products/gwd/advanced.php?search_text=bamboo&offset=0
All Fargesia have pachymorph rhizomes which means
they grow in clumps and don?t spread. As for planting Fargesia murielae
Simba it would have to be planted in full shade and I would recommend waiting
to early spring to plant them. I have personally planted every Fargesia
that is cold hardy in Detroit the only one that seems to be able to handle
are hot summers here and grow well is the F. rufa it can be planted from
full sun to full shade.
http://www.bamboogarden.com/Fargesia%20sp.%20'Rufa'.htm
(Rufa is shorter than murielae 7-10’)
http://www.needmorebamboo.com
(this is Scot again)
one thing im not clear on yet is exactly how fast these bamboo grow..
some sources say "many feet per year" and will get 6 feet tall in like
2 years..
But I found a gardenweb discussion about one of those varieties where
the guy said he had been growing it 6 years
and it was now about 4 feet tall...so im not clear on that.
more research to be done.
but its an interesting solution!
Scot